How We Are Funded

Interpersonal Violence Response and Safety Fee (IVRS)

The Interpersonal Violence Response and Safety fee came out of a student-initiated campaign to provide more awareness of and response to interpersonal violence issues on the CSU campus. The Women and Gender Advocacy Center (WGAC) provides administrative oversight for the IVRS fee. WGAC provides crisis intervention and advocacy services for survivors of sexual assault, relationship violence, stalking and sexual harassment. We also provide interpersonal violence prevention and education focused on gender socialization and bystander intervention techniques. Our interpersonal violence services are provided in the larger context of a Center focused on creating a safe and affirming space for the students we serve at Colorado State University, while supporting systemic change to end all forms of oppression within our community.

Context for Fee

We know that interpersonal violence is occurring at staggering rates on college campuses today. This means that more prevention services are needed, and that we are seeing only a fraction of actual survivors coming in for services. In particular we need to reach out with programming for men. Without funds to engage in awareness campaigns and to market our services to the campus community, we know that there are hundreds of survivors in our community who may not be aware of the services available. However, with this increased awareness will come an increased need for crisis intervention and advocacy services, which we cannot provide without increasing current staff time.

IVRS Advisory Board

WGAC has student advisory board to provide input and feedback related to the implementation and direction of the IVRS fee. There are 1-2 meetings per semester that are used for gathering feedback and input that all board members are expected to attend. The IVRS Advisory Board is comprised of a minimum of 4 students and a maximum of 7 students. Required membership includes: a representative from the Student Fee Advisory Board, a Victim Assistance Team (VAT) member, a student who has successfully completed course WS397, Intro. to Gender-based Violence in a U.S. Context, a faculty member (ideally affiliated with the Center for Women’s Studies and Gender Research). Additional membership could include a CWS&GR minor/major, a male identified student, and one member At-Large.